Means for lubricating steering knuckles of vehicles



April 13 11926. L58fi3 H. saxaway MEANS FOR LUBRICATING STEERING KNUCKLES OF VEHICLES Filed April '25, 1923 ATTORNEY 7 2o ply Patented Apnl3, 1926.

nnnnaan n. sxE'L'LY, or rarnonroa'r, connncrrcur, assrenon' 'ro nownn rnonucrs coaroaa'rrou, or AUBURN,- NEW YORK, a CORPORATION on NEW YORK.

MEAN S FOB LUBRIGATIIiTGr STEERING KNUCKILES OF VEHICLES,

Application filed April 25, 1923. Serial No. 634,436.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BERNARD H. SKELLY,

a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of Bridgeport, in the county of t Fair-field and State of Oonnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improve-- ments in Means for Lubricating Steering Knuckles of Vehicles; andIdo eclarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact de- 1o scription of the invention, such as wall enable others skilled in the art to which ,it appertains to make and'use thefsame.

llhis invention relates to the lubrication of the steering knuckles of vehicles, particularly automobiles, and has for its objects, first to lubricate the joints of the knuckles of the part that carries the steering wheels as-well as the'joints where the connecting bar engages the tie rod,from a single supof lubricant, and second, to lubricate all the movable parts, connected with the tie rod. and the axle and comprisingthe steer-v in system complete at both ends of the ax e, from one source of lubricant supply of the force feed typer Other objects and advantages of the invention relate to the details of the structure, all as will more fully appear from'the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a'broken view looking at the axle and tie-rod from above and at an angle and showing particularly how my invention is installed.

. Figure 2 is a broken front elevation of the axle and tie rod equipped as shown in Fi ure 7.

'iigure 3 is a section at line 99of Figure 2.

' Figure 4 is a section atline 1010 of Figure 2.

Similar numerals of reference denote like parts in the several figures of the drawing. In the drawing 41 is a distributing union which is secured to the axle l, in any suitable manner. Asshown at Figure 4, this union has a ortion 42 that conformably fits against the side of the axle and a bolt memher 43 that extends through the axle with anut 44 driven on the end of the bolt. A conduit 45, which is the sole lubricant supply and leads from a force feed'pump, isconnected with a nipple 46, the latter being a part of a swivel connection with the union such as is shown and describedin my patent aforesaid. A similar nipple 47 is a part of another swivel connection with the union,

these two connections'being preferably disposed at right angles to each other and communicating with passages 48 and 49 that intersect. Thepassage 48 is in line with the supply nipple 46 and extends beyond the passage 49 and leads into a passage 50 which extends in opposite directions through the .llIllOIl and 1s connected at the respective ends to the conduits 51 and 52 which lead to the two steering knuckles at opposite ends of the axle. e

From the passagef49the lubricant passes through the flexible conduit 53 into the nip.-

ple 54, which latter is a part of a swivel connection, as aforesaid, with a distributing union 55 that is fixed on the tie rod 15 in anysuitable way. This union 55 has a passage 56 leading from the swivel connection 54 into a cross-passage 57 that extends in opposite directions through the union and is connected'at the respective ends to the copper tube conduits 58 and 59 which lead to the two tie rod bolt journalsat opposite ends of said rod.

()wing to the various movements of thetie rod, and the great jarring and vibration of the axle, the flexible conduit 53 and the swivel connections mentioned, are-necessary, since otherwise, the conduits are apt to break and the nipple connections would probably be so wrenched and strained that they would either break or leak.

' While I have not described any particular means for supplying lubricant either through the conduit A'or the conduit 45, the same may be supplied under force feed by the means shown and described in my Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,326,142, issued December 23, 1919, wherein I have disclosed a lubricating system for an automobile chassis.

What is claimed is 1; The combination with the steering knuckle system of an automobile, in which the knuckle portions associated with the axle and tie-rod are provided with lubricant passages, of distributing unions secured to .said axle and rod, a single force feed lubricant conduit leading into one of said unions,

a flexible conduit connection between said fed lubricant leading into one of said unions, and auxiliary conduits leading from unions, and conduits extending from each 10 said-unions to said passages. union in opposite directions in each instance 2. In the steering system of an automoand respectively leading into said knuckles. bile, the combination with the tie-rod and In testimony whereof I affix my signa- 5: .5 knuckles, of flexibly interconnected dis- 'ture hereto as Hution unions secured respectively to said e and 2x10, 21 single conduit for a force I BERNARD H. SKELLY. 

